


save me now

by SalveSiS



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Gen, Great Hiatus, Keith (Voltron) Whump, Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, Keith (Voltron) is a Mess, Keith has feelings for the boy, Lance (Voltron) Whump, Langst, M/M, Near Death Experiences, Not a good day for Lance or Keith, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Season/Series 03, Pre-Relationship, SO SORRY, Written for Whump Week, and remember, klangst, lotor is a jerk, lotor sucks, voltronwhumpweek2017
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-14
Updated: 2017-08-19
Packaged: 2018-12-15 07:00:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11800854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SalveSiS/pseuds/SalveSiS
Summary: Keith is selfish when it comes to the people he loves. He has to be. Everyone he's ever loved has ended up leaving him. He won't go through that again.He can't.(Or, Keith tries to save a dying Lance and ends up crossing a line or two)





	1. Fever

**Author's Note:**

> Title taken from Imagine Dragon's "Battle Cry".

Keith is not a selfless person. 

Yes, he can risk his life for others without batting an eye. He's capable of sacrifice for the greater good. But it's not an inherent part of who he is. It's not instinctual to him the way it is for Shiro or Allura or Lance or anyone else on the team. His first instinct is to hold on to what he cherishes and never let go, no matter what.

Not for anything or anyone, whether it was his father, Shiro, the team.

Lance. 

Lance, the loudmouthed idiot who proclaimed himself Keith's rival and spent months antagonizing him. The flirt whose advances got his Lion stolen from him once. Lance, the boy who treated training like a game and saving the universe like a gateway to fame. 

The soldier who woke up from a coma to save his friends. The teammate who comforted Keith when Shiro was gone and supported him when he didn't believe in himself. The friend who kept him from splitting the team apart and shot flying knives in mid air-but somehow still thought he wasn't good enough to be on the battlefield. 

Loud, petty, frivolous, obnoxious.

Vivacious, funny, brave, loving. 

Lance. 

Dying of a fever. 

Lance lay curled on the cold metal floor, his face pale and gleaming with sweat. He stared dully up at the ceiling awake yet unaware of his surroundings. Which may have been a blessing. At the least, it kept him from the knowledge of their location being a Galra ship commandeered by Lotor. 

Keith scanned the hallway for hostiles, nerves rising as Lance hissed and whimpered beside him. Once the coast was clear, he descended to Lance's level, scooped him into his arms and guided him onto his lap. He winced at the heat he was radiating. Lance didn't react. Seeing him so desolate was an experience Keith never imagined to see. He couldn't stand it. He wished his comms were online, but the Galra ship they were on sent out frequency signals obstructing their audio communication. The team did their best to stick together to no avail. Lotor and his generals managed to separate them, leaving Keith and Lance on their own. 

Keith didn't know a lot about medicine, but he knew the last thing Lance needed was to be stranded on a hostile enemy ship with a teammate whose medical knowledge consisted of that tidbit. 

Lance gasped and his body convulsed again in rapid, violent waves. Panic drove Keith to action. He pinned Lance's arms to the floor. "Lance, no, stop-"

He growled and flailed his arms. "No, come on, stop-" Keith struggled to pin him down. It wasn't hard. The fever sapped Lance's strength, leaving him a frail, faded, floppy version of himself. 

He shuddered and fought weakly against his hold. 

"Ge'off," He moaned, eyes welling with tears. "Ge'off, ge'off, ge'ff-" 

Keith grit his teeth. "Lance, calm down, it's me, it's Keith-" 

"No," he said deliriously. "No, no, no, no, please, no-" He shook his head harshly. 

"Lance-"

Howling, Lance interlocked his line of sight with Keith's. They widened with distraught and he clacked his teeth together. "Please make it stop," he begged before dissolving into broken sobs. Slowly, his body ceased its shaking, but his cries continued. 

Distress swelled inside Keith's chest. He roamed his eyes over the other's face, desperate for an answer besides holding on for dear life. He always was good at making up for Keith's own deficits. 

This time, though, there was nothing, and Keith tightened his hold.


	2. Hypothermia

Hoisting Lance onto his back, Keith trudged through the ship corridors. The corridors were empty of personnel, making the traverse easy, which only made him nervous. It shouldn't have been easy, but there wasn't time to dwell on it. Hopefully, he'd find the others before whatever trap Lotor set up for them activated.

"Keith...what..."

Lance hadn't spoken in awhile. His voice was weak yet possessed an edge of clarity and self-awareness it lacked earlier. "You're up," was all Keith could say, a flat contrast to the relief he felt. "How are you feeling?"

“Ugh…Not that great, I gotta tell you. Quiznacking Lotor..I'm gonna k-kick his ass."

"Right now you couldn't take out a drone, let alone Lotor."

"Rude...that's what I have you f-for, dummy. We'll tag team him. A-A-A-hole w-won't know w-w-what hit him."

Keith's pace slackened. "Lance?"

"'M f-f-fine." he huffed. "J-Just-you'd think L-Lotor w-would s-spring for a heating s-s-system. P-Place is worse t-than the-the S-South frickin' p-pole."

"What are you..." Keith craned his neck back and stumbled to a stop. "Oh, shit." Lance was unnaturally pale. He had dark circles under his eyes and his lips were tinted light blue. His teeth were chattering. Keith put him down gently on the floor. He took off his helmet, put a hand on his forehead, and almost recoiled in shock. He was ice cold, a complete contrast from not even half a varga ago. "Shit. Shit, shit, _shit_."

"N-N-Nice v-vocab s-s-skills there, f-fearless leader," Lance said, blue lips quirked.

"Shut up, idiot." Keith snapped, mind whirling. There had to be something he could use, something to warm Lance up. He searched the hallway, growling in frustration when he found nothing.

"Y-Your b-bedside manner n-n-needs s-some work, y-you k-know t-that?"

"Shut _up._ You need to save your strength."

"P-P-Pretty s-s-sure y-you're s-s-supposed to k-keep m-me t-t-talking. M-Make sure I-I don't pass o-out." Lance shuddered. "M-Man, I-I a-am not b-built for t-the c-cold. R-Remind me n-never t-to go t-to an ice planet."

There was a hint of fear buried underneath his jovial tone, and that, more than anything, was frightening.


	3. Blood Loss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yesterday was my birthday. That's all I got in terms of excuses.

The hypothermia left as quickly as it came. Lance stood up and stretch his limbs. He grinned reassuringly and gave a thumbs up and Keith let out a deep breath in relief. 

His smile vanished. His hands flew to his abdomen. He gasped out in pain, vaulted backward. He slid down; a trail of blood followed him. 

"Lance!" Keith dropped down after him, reaching for his hands. He moved them aside, ignoring the way his stomach twisted at how sticky and wet they felt and blanched in horror. "Quiznack..." 

A stab wound, extensive in width and length, tore viciously into his stomach. Blood flooded out, pooling on the ground and filling the area with a strong metallic smell and staining his bodysuit. Lance moaned and smacked his head against the wall behind him. 

"I'm getting so tired of this," he heaved. 

"The fuck did Lotor do to you?" Keith's voice shook in betrayal. Taking off his chest plate and wrist armor, he tugged off his shirt and folded it into a bundle. He firmly pressed it against the wound. 

He and Lance winced in perfect synch, the latter's accompanied by a high-pitched whine. "No idea," he grunted. "Let me know when you figure it out, cause this? This is n-not fun." 

Something inside Keith snapped. "Can't you for once take things seriously?!" His voice echoed across the hall. "You are literally bleeding out right now!" 

"What, really? I had no idea. Thank you so much for letting me know." 

He snarled. "What is the matter with you? How are you not freaking out right now?!" 

Lance grinned at him. "Guess I'm an optimistic sort of fella. Besides, what's the point when I have you around?" 

He almost lashes out at the jab when against all expectations he catches on to the undercurrent of his words. He opens his mouth to respond when the other's eyes begin to glisten.

**Author's Note:**

> This is based off a theory of mine for Voltron Season 4/3.5. I both hope it comes to pass and fear it actually happening. 
> 
> Talk to me on my Tumblr ^^: salve-sis.tumblr.com


End file.
